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"Material Support" Advocacy Update: A Step Forward for Persecuted People
October 17, 2006Hundreds of Karen ethnic refugees from Burma now are resettling in the United States, and processing for U.S. resettlement of Chin ethnic refugees from Burma can begin now, thanks to "material support waivers" signed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
These refugees have suffered brutal persecution at the hands of the ruling Burmese government -- a government that the United States does not support. But their resettlement had been delayed because of broad interpretation, under the USA PATRIOT Act, of language in the Immigration and Nationality Act that bars admission to the United States to anyone who has associated with or provided "material support" to a "terrorist organization."
This new, broad interpretation is being applied to groups of as few as two persons, even if the group is not a designated terrorist organization and even if the refugee was forced at gunpoint to provide the support, or provided it unknowingly. It also is being applied even if the refugee was supporting the opposition to governments the United States itself recognizes as oppressive.
Two of Dr. Rice's directives (signed this spring and summer) apply to certain Karen refugees in the Tham Hin and other camps in Thailand who provided "material support" to the Karen National Union (KNU). They do not apply to those who have been "members" of the KNU, even though they note that the KNU "historically has functioned as the de facto civilian government of the Karen people in the areas it controlled, resisting the repression of and seeking autonomy from the Burmese regime."
A third directive, signed just this month, allows the U.S. State Department to restart processing of extremely vulnerable ethnic Chin refugees from Burma who are now in Malaysia. The UNHCR (the United Nations' refugee agency) had stopped referring cases a year ago as so many were being denied or deferred for "material support." The waiver allows reopening of those old cases and opening of new ones. There also are ethnic Chin in Thailand and India who ultimately may benefit from the waiver as processing proceeds in these locations.
Before being allowed to resettle in the United States, the refugees must meet all other requirements for resettlement under the Administration's Refugee Admissions Program, including that they pose no danger to the safety and security of the United States.
While Church World Service applauds the action of the U.S. Government related to material support and certain refugees from Burma, it is important to remember that this barrier to refugee resettlement has not been solved. Many other innocent refugees around the world -- including hundreds of Colombians, Liberians, Hmong, Vietnamese Montagnards, Sudanese and even Cubans who opposed the Castro regime -- continue to languish unfairly due to the narrow application of the material support provision.
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